


My Beautiful Disaster

by dreamingofdragons



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Car Sex, F/M, Humor, Romance, Semi-Public Sex, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-10-25 19:34:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17731310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingofdragons/pseuds/dreamingofdragons
Summary: My beautiful disaster, or the list of things that could go horribly wrong on a date with Chen. Sometimes it seems that the universe is determined that you won't get naked.





	1. The First Date

I yawned widely and cursed last night’s great idea to work in the library until the early hours when I knew I’d be working a long shift the next day. Still, looking on the bright side my evilly complex translation exercise for my Japanese class was complete and the very moment I locked the door of the florist’s shop tonight the rest of the weekend would be mine, mine, all mine! It felt like I hadn’t seen my friends in weeks. Maybe for once I could join them for a beer or two? Maybe I would even go dancing! There would be guys there. Guys that I could dance with; even get a little flirty with. God, how long had it been since I’d got flirty with a guy? And I did just mean flirty because anything more than that had been so long that most days, I felt like a nun locked away in a convent. Gleefully plotting my imminent intoxication and minx-dom I jumped a little when my boss drifted in from the back room and put a cascading torrent of fresh flowers into one of the empty buckets, we used to display them.  
“I’m just going out to get some lunch.”  
Seulgi told me vaguely. “Yongnam said that he’d treat me to a new restaurant that I’ve been dying to try. You’ll be alright on your own for a minute, won’t you?”  
Hardly a minute. If Yongnam was treating her to lunch, then she’s be gone for hours. Not that it mattered. Seulgi’s very rich father had bought her the florist’s shop either on a whim or with some desperation that his daughter does something with her life. Unfortunately, Seulgi was sweet but spacey. She looked like a regular little flower fairy, drifting through the roses with her waist-length hair and flowing clothes but if she hadn’t had help then the business would have folded within a week.  
“Sure.”  
I agreed. The flower fairy could move fast when she wanted to and Seulgi grabbed her bag and was out the door with a sweet chime of tinkling bells before I could say another word. Like, perhaps, “Could I just run out and grab something for my lunch before you’re gone all afternoon, Seulgi?” Ah well, before I starved to death maybe my body would nibble away on my butt. There was enough packed on there to last me for a full week without eating a thing!

The door chimes tinkled again, and I looked up with my best smile. I felt it warp slightly with concern as two men walked through the door. Not that young men didn’t generally visit a florist but if they did, they generally wear a slightly panicked expression and not the black face masks and hoodies that these two guys did. Shit! Double shit! Was I about to be robbed? They were the only customers and the shop was set back off the street; it wasn’t a given that there would be a stream of people passing by that might notice if something happened.  
“Um… gentlemen, don’t take this wrong way but could you please pull your hoods down?”  
I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and confident. One of them turned around to face me and beneath the shadow of his hood his dark eyes seemed to convey a startled confusion. Perhaps my face looked less calm and confident than I intended because his eyes widened a little as understanding dawned.  
“Oh! Oh hey, I’m sorry. Hyung! We look like damned hitmen or something. Take off your face mask, we’re scaring her!”  
The other man jerked with surprise and then understanding.  
“Shit! I’m sorry. Hey miss, it’s alright. See?”  
I stood frozen, and no longer with fear. Exo. Holy freaking bejeebus, I had two members of Exo in my shop! The two of them pulled down their hoods and while one of them pulled his facemask down around his neck the other dragged it clean off his head. The first guy, the younger one, released a tumble of jet black, wavy hair. Cut short and clean at the back it tumbled over a high, smooth forehead and partially obscured thick, decisive eyebrows. His eyes were the flawlessly clear, deep brown of expensive coffee liqueur and now it was revealed I could see that his face was a work of art. His jawline alone would have made angels weep and as for his cheekbones… oh, the poetry of those cheekbones! His mouth was a perfect cupid’s bow and curved up at the corners even though he was looking me with every evidence of embarrassed apology. He was prone to smiles, I thought dazedly: simply a good-natured man and I knew this because every time I’d seen him on the damned TV, he’d either been smiling or laughing. Chen, I thought with disbelief. Freaking Chen from Exo.  
“It’s… OK.”  
I rasped, trying not to gawk at him too obviously. He must get that all the time and I’d always thought that if I ever did run into one of my favourite celebrities then I’d be totally cool. Definitely not one of those girls that burst into tears or screamed incoherently or fainted. But now I had a sudden rush of understanding that maybe those girls hadn’t intended to do any such thing, either. Simply having someone who took up quite a bit of your thoughts right there in front of you; being gorgeous and sexy and oh so damn real was enough to make me feel damned overcome also. But Christ, he was stunning! His skin was creamy pale, and it glowed. Half man, half unicorn I thought with an inward, slightly hysterical giggle. And truthfully, I would have been less shocked if a unicorn had come into the shop than two members of Korea’s biggest boy band! “But you know, hitmen and Idols have the same wardrobe when they’re trying to go unnoticed, at first glance.”  
I clapped a hand over my mouth in appalled disbelief. I did not just say that! The second guy, he of the silvery hair and breath-taking, feline eyes – Xiumin, my inner fangirl squealed helpfully - gave a bark of laughter. He looked startled and more than a little amused.  
“Say what you think, why don’t you?”  
He drawled. Feeling my cheeks start to burn my attention was drawn by laughter that was like pure, distilled sunshine.  
“For real? Aw man, SM would be horrified. They’ve put so much work into making us look like such nice young men.”  
Chen’s dark eyes sparkled into mine and I felt my breath catch. Still, I felt a huge smile break out just in response to his. His charisma was a warm, tingling aura that enveloped me in a feeling like sunlight.  
“I hate to tell them, but I think your inner hitman might be leaking.”  
“Well we were put in charge of buying our stylist noona a bunch of flowers.”  
Xiumin flashed me a grin. “Probably stone-cold panic can make anyone’s inner hitman leak a little.”  
He turned to face me fully and my brain went a little dead. There was a warm weight of awareness in those feline eyes that strongly suggested that not only did his know his way around a bed, but he’d do it all with a wicked sensuality that might well ruin you for any other man for the rest of your days. Anyone that thought he was such a sweet little dumpling should see those eyes, I thought with mild inner hysteria. And maybe my deer-in-the-headlights expression was obvious because his eyes softened to gentle mockery and amusement and I could see him write me off as an eligible bed partner. I didn’t know whether to be gutted or deeply relieved. “So, we’re good to look at the flowers now?”  
He asked gently, and I nodded so hard that I felt dizzy.  
“Oh, sure! Sure! Go right ahead. We have some really lovely bouquets made up or if you’d prefer then I could make one up for you with your stylist’s favourite flowers.”  
“Thanks.”  
Xiumin flashed me a smile and then sauntered off to look at the bouquets.

I took a shaking breath and fought the urge to fan my flaming cheeks with my hands. Suddenly realising that Chen was still standing at the counter my efforts were completely wasted when I felt my colour flare all over again. He grinned at me.  
“Hey. I’m Jongdae.”  
“No, it’s not”, was my initial response and the attempts at aborting that mortifying retort made me hack like a cat with a furball.  
“Jongdae.”  
I choked. “Pleased to meet you.”  
“Jongdae!”  
We both jumped and looked with some surprise over at Xiumin. He was looking at his friend with exasperation. “I’m not doing this by myself! Stop flirting with the girl and get over here!”  
Flirting? Chen… I mean, Jongdae was flirting with me? At what point had I died and gone to heaven?  
“I can do both.”  
He mumbled and flashed me a dazzling smile. “So, I think we need some help. What’s a good flower?”  
“Sweet Jesus.”  
Xiumin asked, looking slightly appalled and extremely embarrassed. “What’s a good flower? That’s your line?”  
“Shut your mouth.”  
Jongdae growled from the corner of his mouth and then turned back to me. He was looking rather pink suddenly. Blushing, feeling slightly dazed that I’d slid into this weird dream dimension I pulled myself together as best I could. Talking about dreams… whenever I’d had them about Exo, they had ended rather… interestingly. No, no, no! Now was not the time to imagine them both flinging me over the counter and having their wicked way with me amongst the daisies! Oh, it would be so good though, wouldn’t it? TV had nothing on the reality of these guys and just standing a little close to Jongdae was making me all kinds of warm and giggle and… and… alright yeah, horny. That mouth was absolutely beautiful though, wasn’t it? Looking at it was overwhelming enough. I think pressing a kiss to those flawless, cupid bow lines might well kill a girl. Huh! Maybe that was why there had never been rumours about Chen and a girlfriend. The girls had all dropped dead of bliss before they could ever achieve girlfriend status. He was looking at me. Oh crap, he’s looking at me! Did he ask me something? Should I be listening?  
“You’re buying the flowers for your stylist, you mentioned?”  
I asked, aware that I sounded slightly strangled and unable to do a thing about it. Jongdae nodded.  
“Our stylist noona. She’s been with us since the beginning.”  
“And you’re close to her?”  
“Like intimately close?”  
Jongdae looked horrified and Xiumin covered his eyes with his hand.  
“Like is she your friend, Jongdae.”  
He hissed like this whole episode was becoming more mortifying than he could bear. “Get your head out of your pants.”  
Jongdae made a muffled whining noise; his cheeks suddenly burning tomato red. With difficulty he managed a smile.  
“Yes! She’s a friend. A totally friend-type friend. Of course, you weren’t asking if we’re sleeping together. Not that we are! You know, if you were interested. Not ever!”  
There was a very long silence as I tried to think just how to respond to that. What was appropriate in this situation? “Poor woman” didn’t seem quite suitable.  
“Erm… good?”  
“What the hell is she supposed to say to that?”  
Xiumin asked his friend wonderingly. “I’m so sorry that you’re not getting any?”  
And the laughter spilled over.

“Pink roses for friendship and gratitude.”  
I said a while later. “Beautiful flowers that are very feminine and make a truly lovely bouquet.”  
“Oh yeah, they look great.”  
Xiumin looked relieved. “Those sparkly things look great, too. Can you put some of them in it?”  
The “sparkly things” were some hand-crafted butterflies that could be put in a bouquet along with the flowers and I nodded with approval.  
“Of course. Now, do you have an idea of how much you were hoping to spend?”  
Xiumin named a sum that would have made my landlord weep with gratitude. He was going to get some rent today! And these were generous, generous men. I immediately reassessed. With that sort of cash, they could afford something truly special. Abandoning all thoughts of one of our pre-made bouquets I began to think aloud as I went from flower to flower.  
“Pink roses in a slightly darker shade, so they contrast beautifully with the palest pink of these cymbidium orchids. The delicately fern-like astilbe and the delicacy of these spray roses…  
The two men followed behind me, watching with wide eyes. I spun around to face Xiumin. My arms loaded with flowers. “…And if you don’t mind, not the butterflies. They wouldn’t be suitable for this. But feathers, yes, and pearls…”  
“You are an artist.”  
Jongdae said quietly, bowing his head respectfully to me. “Truly, it’s a bouquet to honour someone who has worked so hard for us over the years.”  
Flushing and delighted I felt my heart flutter inside my chest. Yes, of all the outcomes I could ever have imagined should my path have ever crossed with Exo’s Chen then I might have imagined a little more nudity and a lot less flowers – and money being involved, come to that – but for him to admire my work like that, well, I’d take it.

Xiumin stood with his arms full of flowers. His silvery hair curled around his face and the blush pink of the flowers reflected up onto his skin. God, he was beautiful, and for all that he was the oldest, he looked so young! The flowers gave him a blushing, dewy glow and I was getting a little bit confused whether I wanted to kiss him or be him! He flashed me a smile.  
“You made this far, far easier and happier than we were expecting.”  
He said in that melodic voice. “And I will be forever grateful to you. Jongdae? Settle the bill, huh? I’ll be in the car.”  
Strolling out of the shop with his arms full of flowers I was left alone with Jongdae. He brightened and we both shot the departing Idol a look of passionate gratitude. My heart fluttered like it contained a swarm of butterflies and I admit that I was hardly speedy as I ran his card through the machine.  
“Well, there you go. I really hope your stylist likes the flowers.”  
“She will fall in love with us over these flowers.”  
Jongdae replied with a wry twitch to his lips. “Really, we should have bought her something less gorgeous. She will look at these flowers and immediately ask me to marry her.”  
“Be grateful that the flowers are whispering words of friendship and gratitude.”  
I advised. “Something a little more lustful and she definitely wouldn’t be asking you to marry her.”  
Jongdae laughed, his eyes glowing with humour and everything good in the world.  
“That would have to be a very sexy flower. I don’t know if such a thing exists.”  
I shouldn’t… Oh really, I absolutely should not…! But…. I was weak. Flashing him a smile that I absolutely knew was all kinds of mischievous, wicked and downright perverted I left the counter and walked over to our container of poppies. The poppy was a gorgeous, fragile beauty but something a little peculiar happened just as she was ready to blossom. The bud was green and fuzzy with delicate hairs. And when it was ready to blossom, as this one was. Well… Jongdae’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open as fierce colour stained his killer cheekbones. The bud had split, ready to bloom and just spilling from the fuzzy case were the delicately frilled, red petals. To a heterosexual woman it was erotic and amusing. To a heterosexual man… I handed the single bloom to him and he took it automatically, our fingers brushing. The other hand was occupied pulling his shirt sharply down over his crotch. I grinned at him.  
“Feel like asking me to marry you?”  
I teased. Laughter blazed out of his eyes.  
“Or something.”  
He murmured, and that quickly he turned the tables on me. Slowly, he lifted the flower to his face and breathed in the scent, his eyes fluttering closed. His tongue slowly swiped over his full lower lip like he was aching to taste those fragile, dewy folds and my core clenched hard; a rush of liquid heat spilling through me. I ached, suddenly feeling so horribly empty with him standing close to me yet nowhere near close enough. His eyes opened again; eyelids heavy.  
“Well, this was more memorable than I’d expected.”  
He murmured. Wasn’t it though? How the hell was I supposed to go out and get my minx on tonight when I had this for every man to live up to?

 

Setting the shop alarm, I locked the door and finished securing the shutters. Seulgi never had come back but then this wouldn’t be the first time I’d locked up. I doubled checked the store and made sure that I hadn’t forgotten to switch the lights off upstairs.  
“Hey.”  
The quiet voice behind me made me jump through my skin. Spinning around with my hands outstretched like I was going to smack the potential mugger into submission I stopped dead, stunned surprise exploding within my chest. Jongdae stood there. Can you imagine the scene? The flower shop was set back in an old-fashioned little courtyard. The buildings were so very old fashioned against the cutting-edge modernity of Seoul and against the backdrop of the wooden shutters he stood in a pool of light from the streetlamp: the orange making ruby lights in his black hair glow like hidden fire. He gave me a shy, crooked smile.  
“Jongdae? I… what? What are you…? I don’t understand.”  
I stammered. Oh yeah, really cool. I was an intelligent young woman at the best university in Seoul and this man was so much that I couldn’t even string a sentence together!  
“I wouldn’t have left before without… I was going to ask for your number at least!”  
Jongdae looked embarrassed. “But how was I going to impress you when Minseok kept laughing at me?”  
I felt my lips twitch. He just sounded so aggrieved!  
“Puts you off your game.”  
I agreed gravely, and he brightened, nodding.  
“And I’ve got game.”  
He assured me, and I couldn’t help it, my laughter just spilled out of me. Jongdae grinned wryly, raking a hand through his hair. “Not that you’d know.”  
He said sardonically; humour glittering in his dark eyes. Oh God, I was lost. As gorgeous as he was and still not taking himself too seriously? I was weak!  
“I’m glad you came back.”  
I admitted, taking a shaky breath. “And… just so you know? I would have given you my number. Even if Minseok was there.”  
Jongdae’s smile was a solar flare that did strange things to my stomach.  
“Awww, why did you tell me that?”  
He whined, laughter in his eyes. “Now I really wish I’d had the balls to ask you while Minseok was there to be impressed.”  
“Too bad, should have been braver.”  
I teased him. My heart was pounding like it was going to jump out of my chest. Assuming the guy needed some encouragement I’d just set some up ten feet high and flashing with neon. Jongdae laughed softly.  
“That’ll teach me.”  
He murmured. “How about I make it up to you? Are you free tonight?”  
My heart stalled. A date? Not just asking for my number but an actual date? Did the guy not know that he was an Idol? Even I knew that he absolutely, categorically was not allowed to date so surely, he did? I face-palmed mentally. Well sure, he wasn’t allowed to date but I wasn’t so naïve to think that the guys were all virginal. Hadn’t I read something on the internet just last week? About managers discreetly ushering girls that caught Idol’s eyes into private VIP rooms in nightclubs and the like? Sure, Jongdae was clearly better than that, asking me out himself but the result would be the same, surely? And how did I feel about that? I didn’t sleep around. But this was freaking Chen from Exo? But should that matter? And how would I feel in the morning or even an hour later if he zipped up his trousers, kissed me on the cheek and that was the last I ever saw of him?  
“What do you have in mind?”  
I stalled. How to turn him down gently? Tell him straight out that I wasn’t that sort of girl or…  
“Junmyeon was telling me about this amazing restaurant. Really great fusion food, he said. Would you like that?”  
My brain came to a screeching halt. A restaurant? Fusion food? That… well that didn’t sound like sex in the back room of a club I must admit.  
“Like… a date?”  
I squeaked. Tables turning, I got the strongest feeling that Jongdae was laughing at me now.  
“Was I subtle?”  
He teased. “Yeah, like a date.”  
I melted. I could feel it happen. My heart dissolved in my chest and spilled through the rest of my body until there wasn’t a single part of me that wasn’t tingling and more alive than I’d ever been. Jongdae stepped towards me and I caught the first breath of his cologne: cool and fresh like snow-covered firs. He touched the back of his fingers so lightly to my cheek and I shivered, feeling the touch go soul-deep. “Go out with me.” He said very softly. “Please.”  
I think if a runaway elephant from the zoo had suddenly rampaged through the courtyard and mowed me down, I would have died happily in that moment. I had just reached Nirvana.

Neither of us were dressed for a fancy restaurant – or a first date with someone you already really, really liked for that matter – so we arranged to meet up an hour later. I raced home so fast I must have left vapour trails behind me. I’d barely cleared the front door when I began to shed my work clothes; sprinting naked into my bathroom and into the shower. When was the last time I’d shaved my legs?  
“You are not going to sleep with a man you just met today!”  
I told myself sternly. My libido looked anxiously down at my legs for any hint of cactus-like stubble and warned me that if for some reason I did happen to find myself naked with him, like, we were caught up in a hurricane that happened to rip all my clothes off, I would surely have to throw myself off the nearest cliff with shame at being found with hairy legs. Oh God, weirder things happened! Grabbing my razor, I attacked my legs with enthusiasm.

Never attack your legs with enthusiasm, I thought ten minutes later when I’d applied plasters to enough cuts to my legs that I looked like I’d been attacked by a really pissed off combine harvester. Trousers it was, then! Oh God, I looked I was going for an interview! What to do, what to do? A dress then, but with thick tights. Really thick tights. Did I look like my mother? Maybe even my grandmother! Never mind a few razor scratches, I looked like I could be hiding varicose veins like bunches of grapes under here! There was no point spending all night here. Nothing I had to wear was what I’d imagined for dating freaking Chen from Exo. For that I needed about a million won and a personal shopper with some serious style. Settle for what makes you feel confident then. The royal blue dress with the short, swing skirt flirty enough to balance out the hideous tights and the rope of black pearls – fake of course – that hung down to my navel. No time to do anything complex with my hair but blast it with the hairdryer and some texture spray, do my makeup again and put on a pair of cute little black ankle boots. How did I look? Actually… with the flush on my cheeks and my eyes radiating so much excitement that the sparks threatened to set fire to my curtains… not half bad! Time was up. If I wanted to be on time I had to leave now. Here I come, Jongdae, ready or not! Urrrrk, excitement and nerves were combining and both so elevated that I might throw up on his shoes.

He looked like he’d walked straight out of a dream. Oh God, he looked too good to look at! Today’s casual clothes had been replaced by a sleek, black suit that fit him like a glove; personally tailored for him, it had to have been. Paired with a black shirt and tie that made his skin glow pearl bright the sight of him just wrecked me. And to my amazement he was looking back at me with the same, dazed expression.  
“You’re so beautiful.”  
He murmured. I couldn’t believe him. He spent time with the most beautiful women all the time, with stylists and expert makeup artists at their disposal. What was one student florist compared to that? But he was looking right into my eyes with an expression of slightly pained sincerity and all the cynicism and realism in the world failed to stand up to it. My heart melted. Right here, right now I felt as beautiful as he told me I was. Seen through his eyes, I shone.  
“Are you ready to go?”  
He nodded, holding his arm out to me in an old-fashioned, courtly gesture that dissolved what little was left of me. Tucking my hand through his arm and feeling that hard press of his bicep, I must have walked to his car hovering at least five feet off the ground.

Jongdae’s car was a low, sleek little number. The seats were buttery leather and they cradled my body like I was a new-born baby. Tinted windows obscured Jongdae’s famous face from any passers-by and his elegant, long-fingers hands rested confidently on the wheel. It was a turn-on, I had to admit. Forgive me for the massive cliché but watching him handle all that horsepower with such smooth skill was making me feel decidedly warm that he might handle other things just as confidently. And his thighs… mmmm. Hard with dancers’ muscle that rippled in the most sublime way as he pressed the pedals. Oh crap, what happened to not putting out on the first date? At this rate I was going to be jumping him!   
“So, tell me more about the restaurant we’re going to?”  
I asked him, mostly to distract myself before my hands broke free of my control and started exploring the delicious muscles on those thighs. The material of his trousers looked silken soft and I could imagine only too well how good it would feel, dragging my hands up those strong thighs and feeling the silken material as such a perfect contrast. Jongdae shot me a bright smile.  
“Junmyeon said that the chef is award winning; from Australia, I think. He does fusion flavours. There’s a big waiting list, normally.”  
“And you can call up and get a table for the same night, just like that?”  
I was impressed. Even Seulgi had to respect things such as waiting lists and she was so wealthy that my eyes watered in envy on occasion. Jongdae had all the reason in the world to brag, but instead his mouth curved wryly, and with definite embarrassment.  
“Junmyeon… Suho, made the booking.”  
He mumbled. “I’m more of a noodle bar kind of guy.”  
I felt like he’d smacked me over the head with a gigantic, cuddly teddy. Oh God, but he was adorable. I was so smitten that I was sure love hearts were shooting out of my eyes like we were starring in a manga.  
“This will be new to both of us, then.”  
I brushed my fingers against his forearm. “God, I hope it’s not too fancy. What if I use the wrong fork, or drink from the finger bowl or something?”  
Chen laughed, his face relaxing into the most stunningly wicked grin.  
“My parents taught me to be respectful of money.”  
He drawled. “Tonight, if it can be eaten or drunk whether or not it’s a fingerbowl or meant to be a table decoration, we’re doing it.”  
I think that was the moment I began to fall in love with him.

Fifteen minutes later we were both looking with disbelief out of the window and my libido had been cooled like I’d sat on a block of ice. We were on one of the broad, spacious roads running through Seoul to the gorgeous restaurant that this Junmyeon friend had recommended, but the traffic was not moving. The traffic, in fact, was not going anywhere.  
“What the hell…?”  
Jongdae sounded bewildered. Switching on the radio, he pressed the buttons until he tuned in to a local station.  
“…And any motorists should avoid the Gangnam area, where witnesses reported two expensive sports cars were racing in excess of the speed limit and have caused a multi-car pileup. The crash has blocked off the whole road and until the cars can be cleared away no traffic will be able to pass that way.”  
“Shit!”  
Jongdae looked alarmed. “That could take hours! I’d better turn around while we have… the… chance…”  
We both looked in dismay behind them. Even in the last five minutes a massive trail of cars had built up behind us. There was no way that Jongdae would be able to turn his car around and take a different route: we were completely blocked in. The two of us looked at each other with blank faces until Jongdae gave me a sickle smile. “Maybe they’ll move the cars really quickly!”  
Hopefully, that’s exactly what would happen.

In my pretty dress and most expensive shoes I paid for the food and held the paper sack against my chest. The oil was already beginning to seep through and from smelling deliciously of my cherished bottle of Dior Addict I was brought right back down to earth with the rich scents of fried meat. Jongdae leant across the seat and opened the door for me and I slid inside the car.  
“Fried mandu with cabbage and a combination of teriyaki and chili tomato sauces.”  
I passed him one of the containers, and a wooden spoon. Jongdae had discarded his jacket and rolled up his sleeves halfway up his forearms. Folding the paper back beneath the tray he scooped up a dumpling and took a huge bite. He moaned.  
“Oh wow, that’s so good.”  
My mouth was watering. We’d been locked in traffic for the best part of three hours now and it was almost midnight. I was so hungry he could have bought me a cheese sandwich from a gas station, and it would have been the finest thing to ever have passed my lips. Stuffing a dumpling into my mouth I chewed blissfully as the fried meat, cabbage and teriyaki exploded on my taste buds.  
“Oh! I almost forgot…”  
I passed him an icy cold bottle of beer; condensation rolling down the sides. The street vendor had already taken the caps off them and Jongdae took a long pull. His long eyelashes fluttered in bliss.  
“This is the best meal I’ve ever had.”  
I gave a snort of laughter, sucking sauce from my fingertips. Jongdae looked slightly embarrassed. “And the first meal that a girl has ever bought me for a first date. This is all going so horribly wrong I pray to God you’ll let me have a second one.”  
Ah yes. Jongdae had intended to pay for our fancy meal on his card. The street vendor, however, was not equipped for such things. It had been up to me to pay cash. Smirking slightly, I waved a second, smaller paper bag in the air between us.  
“Cream puffs.”  
I told him. Jongdae’s eyes widened appreciatively, but before he could take the bag, I pulled it back from him and gave my very best leer.  
“Are you not overwhelmed by my sweets? Are your trousers feeling like they might fall down at such generosity?”  
For a moment he stared at me with slack-jawed shock and then he exploded into laughter.  
“Honey, you had me at deep fried dumplings.”

The car pulled silently up before my apartment building. It was just gone three am and Jongdae had to be up at five thirty. In the darkness, his face was illuminated only by the streetlights and it picked out a golden gleam in his creamy skin.  
“That was…”  
I tilted my head and flicked through the options. “…Memorable?”  
Jongdae groaned, his head falling back against the car seat and his expressive hands lifting to cover his face.  
“Memorable, yes.”  
He replied. “Forgive me if I tell Minseok about how very memorable you thought it without giving him any of the reasons why.”  
Grinning, I shook my head.  
“I had fun.”  
He peered at me through his fingers.  
“You’re clearly a compulsive liar or you’ve had some really bad dates.”  
A snort of laughter escaped from me.  
“Or I’m a very polite and sweet young woman.”  
“I am prepared to take full and shameless advantage of that. Will you go out with this pitiful man again?”  
He was asking me out again? There would be a second date with Exo’s freaking Chen? I felt my lips curve into a huge and what must have been utterly gormless smile.  
“If you promise me that our next date will be within walking distance.”  
His laughter cut off as I leant across the seats towards him. Steadying myself on his chest I had a moment to look at the heart-breaking beauty of his face and wonder how on earth I’d found the bravery for this. Maybe because his lips were parted, his eyelids weighted down with anticipation and nothing about his body language let me think that this might be unwelcome. For a moment I hesitated; my self esteem getting the better of me. This was unbelievable enough without daring to ask for even more. Jongdae’s hands shifted, one brushing over my cheek to thread into my hair and the other wrapping around my waist.  
“I promise.”  
He murmured and pulled me those last crucial centimetres until my lips connected with his.   
Kissing passionately, the rising heat was undeniable. Leaning against him, it was impossible to know who was demanding and who was giving but we were taking each other higher and higher, the desire was raging out of control. My knee knocked against the gearstick for the fiftieth time and I groaned, hating the distance it demanded between us. With a sudden growl of annoyance he grasped hold of me and physically lifted me over the gearstick and from my seat onto his, the seat reclining back with us on it. Draped over his body I felt him pressed against me and he felt even better than my wildest dreams had imagined. He ran his hands up my spin and I arched, shuddering as raw need screamed through me like a demon. The windows were steaming up; creating our own secret haven. Any of my neighbours might look out of their windows and wonder why a car was here, just waiting, but I had never felt so alive or so recklessly needing.  
“Jongdae.”  
I gasped and he moaned in response, his hands finding the hem of my dress and slipping up beneath it to touch bare skin at my waist. Never in my whole life had I ever regretted anything like I was regretting my choice of undergarments right then. In my fervour to hide my razor-burned legs I had unintentionally created an old-fashioned chastity belt for myself. Nothing was getting through! His clothes were barely better, as impenetrable as armour and my hands restlessly moved up his chest, slipping between the buttons of his shirt and finding bare, silken skin. Long, open-mouthed kisses set my body alight and when his hand closed over my breast I could have cried out with the heaven of it and the unbearable frustration that more was not immediately forthcoming. Just because it felt so good I pulled away, my chest heaving. He looked way too good to me just then, so dishevelled and it took will power that I’d never needed to put some distance between the two of us. He closed his eyes briefly; a burning flush at his cheekbones and his chest heaving.  
“Oh sweetheart.”  
He said huskily. “What have you done to me?”  
“Nothing that you’re not doing right back.”  
I admitted and he grinned, sitting up. Probably he meant it to cool down the situation; getting the majority of my body off his, but instead my knees came down on either side of his hips, and suddenly all I could feel was the rigid length of him pressed up against my core. Jesus Christ! The heat of him, the thickness felt so good that my brain was shutting down, all coherent thoughts replaced by screaming sensory input of how he smelled and felt against me. I wanted him so badly that I desperately needed him to push these godawful clothes aside and sink inside me, and only then would he be close enough. It wasn’t a good way of kissing someone if you wanted to stay in control.  
“Have to… stop.”  
Gasping, Jongdae eased my hips back from his. Both of us were sucking in air like we’d just run a marathon and sweat glued my dress to my skin. “We’re in my car and I can’t go inside with you, because I’d have to leave in a really short while.”  
He looked pained; his black hair falling in damp and dishevelled tendrils over his face and his lips swollen and reddened. A shudder of sheer want ran through me and it was the hardest thing I’d had to do in my life to pull back from him. Cold, midnight air rushed into the car as I pushed the door open and half tumbled out. Tipping my head back to let the cold air soothe my burning cheeks I let out a low, strangled groan of utterly frustrated desire.  
“That’s respectful.”  
It was. I hated him a little bit for it and he seemed to see it. Sliding out of the car after me he caught hold of me and pulled me tight against him. Wrapping my arms around his waist I buried my face against his sweat-damp throat and breathed the scent of him deep into my lungs.  
“I apologise.”  
He said gravely, somewhere near my ear and the tension broke; laughing against his skin.  
“You bastard.”  
Framing my face in his hands he smiled down at me and kissed me softly on the lips.  
“I can call you in the morning?”  
My heart lit up and I nodded acceptance. Pulling me close for a sudden, fierce kiss he pulled back before I could cling; sliding back into the car. “Then I’m looking forward to our second date with more anticipation than a little kid at Christmas.”  
“And more than a little dread.”  
I drawled.  
“You’re so mean!”


	2. Sasaeng

It was almost 3:30pm when Jongdae finally walked through the door of Exo’s dorm. At this time of night, with a 5am wake up call scheduled even the night owls in the group were all asleep. Grabbing a cold bottle of water from the kitchen he padded on socked feet upstairs to where the room he shared with Yixing when he was at home stood next to Minseok’s. For a moment he felt the familiar twist of emotion at how much he missed his friend and roommate before it eased a little. Tonight, in particular, he could lie down in privacy, close his eyes and just dream about her. Or not.  
“Jesus Christ, Minseok!”  
His startled yelp was embarrassingly high pitched. Stretched out on Yixing’s bed Minseok grinned at him.  
“I heard you coming in. So?”  
“So, what?” Jongdae grumbled. Carefully hanging up his suit jacket – by far the most expensive piece of clothing he’d ever owned and still such a guilty pleasure that when he wasn’t wearing it, he kind of wished he could wrap it up in swansdown in a completely airless atmosphere. He and Minseok knew each other so well that neither bat an eyelash when Jongdae stripped out of the rest of his clothes and, naked, pulled on a fresh pair of boxers to sleep in. Dressed just the same, Minseok’s silvery hair was freshly washed and fell in soft strands into his sleepy eyes. All his makeup cleansed away in his fanatically kept skincare regime, it all made him look softer and younger; only exaggerated by the huge grin that spread across his face and flashed healthy pink gums.  
“You like her!”  
He crowed with glee, laughing. Jongdae tried to keep a stoic expression and then gave it up. Flopping down onto the bed beside Minseok he dumped his head and shoulders into his best friend’s lap and grinned up at him.  
“She’s so smart and so funny.”  
“And so pretty that you took one look at her and almost cried.”  
Minseok mocked and caught hold of Jongdae’s flailing fists with laughable ease. “So, what kind of girl is this?” He asked curiously. “Five minutes of fun or…?”  
“She’s not like that!”  
Jongdae snapped and Minseok immediately held his hands up in surrender.  
“Never said that she was, bro.”  
His white teeth flashed in the dim light. “Jongdae’s gonna date her.”  
Jongdae’s tension relaxed and his eyes closed, immediately seeing her laughing face on his inner eyelids.  
“Minseok, I think I’m gonna marry her.”

The soft chirping of my phone woke me up from a deep sleep. Although I’d showered and tumbled straight into bed when Jongdae dropped me off at home, it had taken me hours to get to sleep. Sweet excitement and anticipation had my body acting like my blood had been replaced by fizzy drink, and as it bubbled and fizzed through my veins, I buried my face in my pillow and squealed with simple joy. He was really something, wasn’t he? I mean, I know he was freaking Chen from Exo but even if that hadn’t been flashing a neon sign in ten-foot lights above his head, if you took all that away… what remained was Jongdae. And so far, I liked Jongdae more than I’d ever liked any guy. At some point I suppose sheer exhaustion had kicked in, because now my phone was ringing, and the moonlight had been replaced with bright sunshine.  
“Hello?”  
I murmured into my phone, trying to sound like I’d been up for hours and my face wasn’t half stuck to my pillow with drool.  
“You’re asleep?”  
An increasingly familiar voice whined playfully down my ear. “But that’s not fair! Why do I have to be awake and working when you’re still asleep?”  
I felt a massive, slightly idiotic smile spread across my face. He was calling the same morning? Did the boy not know how to be cool and douche-baggy?  
“It’s a compliment.”  
I told him, snuggling into my warm nest of pillows and blankets and feeling my toes curl with pleasure at the sound of his voice. “Your masculinity is so very potent that you’ve left me quite exhausted.”  
I was teasing him, but I heard his breath catch at the other end of the line and his voice turned a little deeper and silkier: like caramel drizzling into my ears.  
“God, I wish that was the way it happened.”  
A shiver so saturated in sexual desire that it left devastation in its wake ran down my spine and had my eyes closing. I had an almost physical flashback to last night, sitting astride him in the car and feeling him pressed up against me and my core clenched; heat beginning to spill through my lower half. Part me of really wished it had gone further as well.  
“What are you doing today that you needed to be up so early?”  
It was shamelessly steering the conversation away from dangerous waters but damned if I was going to have phone sex with the guy when I still had stinky morning breath. Jongdae accepted it without pause.  
“Working out, dance and vocal practice this morning and then we’re filming for a variety show until late.”  
I winced in sympathy. That was going to be one evilly long day. I wasn’t due in to class until 11am and thankfully I wasn’t working today so at least I’d be able to catch up on my studying and sleep.  
“You’ll be so tired!”  
I groaned in sympathy. Jongdae laughed softly, sounding a little embarrassed.  
“Weirdly, I feel kinda buzzed.”  
Warmth and sweetness spilled from my ear into my bloodstream and I had to put my phone aside and muffle my squeal in my duvet. Oh, dear Lord, this boy was going to be the death of me. Snuggling in my duvet cave, I found myself smiling at my phone like he could actually see it.  
“I had a really great time last night.”  
“Liar.”  
He drawled and my sweet tones dissolved in a snort of laughter. “What sane girl likes traffic jams?”  
“A crazy girl who just really liked spending time with you.”  
The words were out before I could stop them. Oh noooooooo! That was so entirely uncool! Why not go the whole hog and tell him that I was so besotted that I was going to get his name tattooed on my butt? There was a hideously long silence and I bounced my head off my bed; disgruntled that there were so many pillows to cushion the rightful punishment. His voice was softer and somehow more uncertain.  
“Really?”  
Really? Really? The man had hit me like an eighteen-wheeler truck, and he was giving me reallys?  
“Yeah.”  
I mumbled and for the longest moment we just sat there at either end of the phone, just breathing together.  
“Listen, I know I promised you fusion food but you know we were talking about the new Predator movie? Well, it’s having a special early showing. Can I take you?”  
“Can you take me?”  
I asked, amused. “Like you haven’t just offered me something that sounds like a wish from a genie.”  
“You aim too low. My genie wishes would be more towards the world domination thing.”  
“World domination, a cure for all the world’s diseases and a trip to a special showing for a movie series I’ve been dying to see, with you.”  
Jongdae’s laughter spilled down the line.  
“Oh God, you’re killing me. I have no defences against such lethal aigyo.”  
“Try not to die before our date. I’m looking forward to it.”  
“I shall do my best to survive until Thursday.”  
“Thursday?”  
I squeaked. Thursday was two days away! Jongdae immediately sounded worried.  
“Is that too soon? Should I be cooler? Should I get my manager’s secretary to call you and make a date for next year?”  
“Considering the no-dating clause in your contract, that would be a spectacularly dumb thing to do.”  
I teased. His tone immediately changed.  
“You know about that, huh?”  
He asked sheepishly. I grimaced.  
“The whole world knows about that clause, Jongdae. I admit that I’m… curious that these dates seem awfully date-ey.”  
“They are completely date-ey.”  
He replied grimly. “If I wanted a quick fu… erm, I mean if this was something more casual then I’m the wrong Exo member and I think, you’re the wrong girl.”  
Sweet, sweet emotion stole through my body like marshmallow smoke.  
“Yeah.”  
I admitted apologetically and wondered about this modern age that I felt guilty about not sleeping with him on the first date. He chuckled.  
“And I very much look forward to stressing your morals over time.”  
He announced cheerfully and my whole body relaxed; laughter making my cheeks ache.  
“Back on track, Casanova.”  
I chided. “You really won’t get into trouble about this?”  
“We’ll be discrete. I mean, I’m probably not going to be able to take clubbing or to your friends’ parties.”  
If I seriously started dating him then secrecy would be to the max. There would be no grinning, derpy selfies to splash over Instagram or grabbing random people at school and screeching that I was dating Exo’s freaking Chen! I’d have to carefully consider how discrete my friends or family were before sharing it with them. Nothing about this would be the free, casual sort of relationship most girls my age enjoyed. But… An image flashed through my brain; Jongdae offering his arm in such a courtly gesture and his uninhibited laughter lighting up his whole face. I liked him.  
“I won’t do anything to get you into trouble.”  
I promised him and his breath caught on the other end of the line.  
“Sweet girl, I was thinking that this was going to be tough on you, not me.”  
“Make it as good as you can?”  
I sounded like a child. I sounded like a girl that still believed utterly in the idea of her Prince Charming, despite all evidence to the contrary. Hell, I was that girl. And his voice turned as beautifully silken and warm as a hot chocolate on the coldest winter day.  
“Whatever I can do.”  
He replied softly.

“So, this guy must be super special.”  
Due to my parents wholly buying into the fallacy that you couldn’t get pregnant when you were breastfeeding, my younger sister was in fact only nine months younger than I was. We attended the same university in the same year group and shared the tiny apartment in Seoul but with her work in the barbeque restaurant and her crazy social life our communication relied heavily on post-it notes stuck to the fridge. This morning the post-it and featured the word “HELP!!!!!!” and little sis had come running. Now she sat on my bed with a Cheshire Cat smirk and watched me hurl the contents of my closet across the room in complete disgust. “You have never asked me for fashion advice.”  
“Well, hell clearly just froze over.”  
I grunted. “Come on, Junei! I wore my best dress for the restaurant. What the hell do I wear to the movies?”  
“Ah, now this is a tricky one. This falls into the category of “oh this old thing? I’ve had this forevah!” Whilst in fact taking several hours to pull together.”   
I whimpered pathetically, pawing through my discarded clothes. Jeans? A dress? Junei twinkled at me. “But it’s also a God-given opportunity! You’ll be sitting side-by-side right? All snuggled up in the dark? What you wear is actually less important than how you feel. Which is why I’ll be lending you my mohair cardigan to wear with your rose-patterned dress and the faintest hint of rose perfume. Tonight, big sister, you’re going to be such a girly girl that he’ll feel like a hulking he-man in comparison and feel so soft and fluffy that he won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”

My hair was arranged in a loose French plait that seemed to have so casually been pulled together whilst in fact being held in place by so many invisible grips that it would take me an hour to pull them all out tonight. If he tried to run his fingers through my hair tonight, he’d either be shredded by metal or I’d slap him for ruining hours of effort. I was waiting outside when the familiar car pulled up, and Jongdae slid out of the door. My breath caught in simple admiration. His charcoal grey, pinstriped trousers hugged the length of his legs and the blood red jersey had a sheen like silk and somehow brought out depths in his black hair like the strands were spun from darkest rubies. He looked so good he could have appeared on TV just like that; like he’d been professionally styled. If fact, had I known it, he had been. The stylist noona he’d bought the flowers for had been feeling especially indulgent towards him when he’d run to her in a panic, begging for help.  
“Hey.”  
I said, smiling shyly. His lips curved upwards.  
“Hey.”  
He murmured, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing a soft kiss onto my cheek. I melted in against him, my hand discovering just how soft his jersey actually was as it rested on his chest. Some streak of devilment brought on by simple longing had me stretching up against him and pressing a kiss to the corner of his perfect mouth.  
“Hey.”  
I said solemnly and his dark eyes brightened with laughter.  
“Hey.”  
He said soulfully, gazing into my eyes… right before he rubbed his nose against mine. Exploding into laughter, I wrapped my arms around his slim waist and just held on, utterly enchanted with him. Holding onto me just as closely, Jongdae pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose, grinning.  
“I missed you.”  
He told me and then faltered, blushing. “Aw man. Too clingy?”  
“Just clingy enough.”  
I assured him. “I missed you, too.”

The special preview of the new Predator movie had a limited amount of tickets, so although I would have thought that Idols could never go to a movie without renting out the whole cinema or something, he had thought it through. Pulling a baseball cap out of his glove box before we left the car, Jongdae pulled it on over his tousled hair and added a face mask to his ensemble. He’d thought of everything. We slipped inside the cinema through a private entrance and the cinema manager smiled at him reassuringly.  
“The lights are going down right now. No one will see you when you go to your seats.”  
“Wonderful. Thank you for all your kind assistance.”  
Jongdae murmured and the manager bowed politely before beckoning to one of the workers.  
“If you require any snacks or drinks then please let Somin help you. Somin, these are special guests. Get them anything that they need.”  
She was younger than I was, probably about seventeen years old, and she clearly knew exactly who Jongdae was, mask or no. Her dark eyes took on a glassy sheen and she was swallowing convulsively, like she was either going to burst into tears or throw up. I remembered my own stunned response to the two Exo members and thought wryly that I hardly had any room to be smug and smiled at her kindly. Jongdae’s eyes crinkled in what was undoubtedly a killer smile beneath his mask.  
“Drinks? What would you like?”  
“Diet Coke?”  
“OK, so two diet Cokes and a huge popcorn. What flavour do you prefer?”  
“Salty and sweet mix.”  
“Excellent choice! So that too and… nachos? Sweets?”  
“Ice cream?”  
“Ice cream!”  
He agreed with delight and looked down at Somin. “Is that OK?”  
“O…of course! Wh…whatever you like…”  
There was something a little peculiar about the way the girl was looking at him, like if whatever he liked included her spread eagled across the concessions counter dipped in ice cream, wearing a thong made out of popcorn then she’d be only too happy to oblige. It was a whole world of weird to see another woman direct that look at your boyfriend, when you were standing right there beside him! My eyebrows lifted and I gave her a pointed look. Have some pride, girl! Somin noticed, and for the first time the stunned, hungry expression on her face melted into something else. That something else was absolute vitriolic loathing for me but hey, we were already heading out to the dark cinema, we could leave crazy lady behind. I brushed my uneasiness at her expression aside and focused on my pleasure at being with Jongdae.

I tried, anyway. About five minutes after we’d settled into our seats she was there again, with a tray full of our drinks and snacks. I felt a moment’s queasy worry that she’d spat in mine or something. No spit, but something else. I watched Jongdae scoop out a folded piece of paper and give it the briefest glance before screwing it up.  
“What was that?”  
I murmured. He grimaced.  
“The concessions girl is an Exo fan. She gave me her number.”  
I think my jaw dropped. The girl was bold! I tried to imagine slipping, say, Taemin my number if I ever randomly bumped into him and failed miserably. Taking the piece of paper, I glanced at it and had to stifle a yelp of disbelief. She’d given him more than her damned number! The girl had given him an explicit invitation to meet her in the bathroom!  
“Does this happen to you a lot?”  
I asked him, dazed. Jongdae gave a snort of amusement.  
“Define a lot.”  
He replied innocently and laughed as I elbowed him in the ribs.

I think I was in heaven. The arm rests pushed up into double “love seats” and I was snuggled up against Jongdae. His thigh was warm and muscular against mine and his long, elegant fingers twined through mine. Truthfully whatever action was happening on screen was a bit of a blur when I just had to turn my head to breathe in the scent of the tender skin on his neck. His thumb traced up and down on the fragile skin on my inner wrist and he was sending tingles through my whole body. God, my virtuous decision to be a good girl was getting more and more unlikely by the minute when he smelled and felt so good and I just wanted to touch him! And let’s face it, he was being respectful as hell. It was me who twisted in my seat a little and nuzzled that tender space beneath his jaw. Jongdae twitched. Taking my hand in his other one he wrapped his closest arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. Mmmmm, that felt nice; there was tangible strength in his arm. Cupping his warm, smooth cheek in my hand I stretched up against him to press my lips against his. His lips were plush and velvety soft, sweet and salty to taste and just because he tasted so good, I gave his lower lip a little kitten lick to get more of it. Jongdae’s moan rumbled through his chest into me and he began to kiss me properly. Oh God, what was it about the illicit thrill of making out in a cinema that was so sexy? The surround sound booming out to cover any incriminating noises that might escape and the darkness hiding his hand as it slipped down to flatten against my thigh. I shuddered and gasped, my fingers in the soft hair at his nape as I opened my mouth to his. His tongue twined with mine, his hand touching bare skin as it found the hem of my dress. My body was aching in anticipation as every inch of my being silently urged that hand to move higher still. I was getting so worked up that I likely would have missed it had an army invaded the dark room, but not when the invasion was so very close by. Jongdae had his back to the row but I was facing head on when the shadowy figure slipped towards us and dropped down into the very next seat to Jongdae. It was a little like being doused in freezing water. Oh God, how embarrassing! But… the figure did not react as I might have expected. There were no outraged gasps or even disapproving tuts as the stranger saw Jongdae and I pressed together and a moment later when something shifted on the screen, the light shifted just right to fall on the stranger’s face. Somin gazed with wide, enraptured eyes, her body angled to his broad shoulders and her hands on him like she was joining in! And Jongdae reacted like whatever she’d just touched was more intimate than anything I’d yet aimed for. He shot up like he’d just been tasered.  
“What the hell…!”  
Slumped in her seat, Somin was already reaching for him.  
“I’ve waited for you for so long.”  
Oh… wow. Wow, wow, this was so far past my experience that I sat frozen in utter disbelief. It was her reaching hands that broke me out of it: white and spidery like a horror film. Launching to my feet I grabbed Jongdae’s hand and shot down the aisle away from her like I’d been fired out of a cannon.

“Jongdae! Jongdae, please!”  
Her tone ended on a sobbing, desolate note that would have been absolutely heart breaking had the crazy bitch not been pounding at the toilet door at the time! She’d followed us out of the screen room, rounded us up like an award-winning sheep dog and would probably have slaughtered me in the bathroom to get to Jongdae had he not managed to dive into the disabled toilet with me in tow and lock the door. Pressed up against the opposite wall like any second, she might chop her way through just like Jack Nicholson in the Shining we watched the door with hawk eyes. It vibrated with her blows. I cleared my throat delicately.  
“I am embarrassed to admit that I’m not such a huge Exo fan as I thought, if this is anything to go by.”  
I confessed. Jongdae slid me a sideways glance.  
“Funny.”  
He drawled, and I grinned.

“Minseok… Minseok! Stop laughing!”  
With our exit blocked by the psycho sasaeng outside the door Jongdae had resorted to the big guns. Or at least he was trying. Explaining to his best friend why he had to talk to the cinema manager to pull away the psycho girl outside the bathroom so that we could leave the toilet was clearly not going well. “…She was the concessions girl. She followed us into the screen room. Ya! Minseok, will you stop laughing? I’m not joking! Listen…”  
He held the phone out towards the door where the discordant, downright freaky strains of Exo’s Call Me Baby (Crazy Fangirl Remix) drifted through to us. Apparently, the serenade was enough to settle Minseok’s hilarity. Jongdae listened for a moment and with a disdainful sniff, hung up the phone. He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “He’s calling the manager right now. Don’t worry, we’ll be out of here in no time.”  
“Amazing that the manager hasn’t already heard her.”  
I marvelled. “I mean, subtlety went out of the window a while ago.”

Jongdae pulled the toilet seat down and sat on top of it. With a groan he caught hold of me and pulled me down to sit on his lap, resting his chin on my shoulder with his arms wrapped snugly around my midsection. Leaning back against him with a sigh I reached behind with one hand and found his warm cheek. Murmuring an endearment, I pressed my cheek against his. He pressed a kiss against my neck; no doubt a gesture that was meant to be as comforting as the hug, but it sent shivers through me. Craning my neck backwards when he shifted, I felt his soft chuckle through my back. He put his lips on me again; somehow more purposeful this time and a soft, breathy sigh escaped me when his teeth grazed ever so gently against my skin. Held like this with him behind me, there wasn’t anything to do but enjoy it as he kissed and licked his way down my neck, and I squirmed with increasing arousal. Jongdae groaned, evidence of his own enjoyment pressing against my butt. Shifting one of his hands from where it rested on my stomach, it oh so innocently grazed the swell of my breast. If he was expecting a rejection or slapped face, then he’d be surprised: his hand against such a sensitive place sent sparks into my blood. Sensing it, both hands cupped my breasts through the soft cotton of my dress and my eyes closed helplessly, the better to savour the sensations of his hands on me. His thumbs traced my stiffening peaks, pinching gently through my dress and I arched, shivering against him. The movement shifted my weight in his lap, putting the bulge of him where I needed it most and reflexively, I shifted again, grinding down against him. Jongdae gasped and moaned, his dancer’s hips bucking him up against me and, oh God, his trousers and my underwear simply wasn’t that thick. Deliberately sliding him up and down, he rubbed against my clit with each movement and scalding heat was beginning to pool in my core.  
“Jongdae!”  
He was panting into my ear and his body temperature seemed to have shot up about ten degrees: he was burning against me. We were in a toilet and this was about as sleazy as it got but my pleasure was ramping up and I knew I was going to come, just like this. Reaching up, twining from arms behind his neck from behind and stretching my ribcage out, giving him full access to my breasts I craned my head to the side and our mouths connected in an awkward, wonderful, open-mouthed kiss. It heightened my pleasure and I shifted harder, my hips grinding down against him and I was so close, so close…

The sudden explosion of noise outside made us both flinch and gasp.  
“No! Jongdae, nooooooooooo!”  
Somin’s psycho vocals rose to a deathly wail and I cried out, Jongdae wrapping his arms around my midsection once more and twisting his body so that he was between me and the door. Shouts, bangs and muffled curses followed and Jongdae’s eyes glazed from melting chocolate to sharp as flint. On our feet again he held me protectively as I hid my face against him.  
“Jongdae?”  
Sharp and concerned, the voice that came through the door was different entirely from Somin’s insanity.  
“Minseok?”  
Jongdae asked and a gusty sigh came through the door.  
“You’re alright. She put up one hell of a fight. The manager had to get security and they’re calling police. We need to get out of here quickly.”  
Jongdae twisted the lock on the door and Minseok was standing there: jeans, baseball cap and a hoodie pulled over his silvery hair. Seeing us, the tense lines of his face softened with relief and he smiled at me. “You’re OK, sweetheart?”  
I nodded quickly, my eyes widening as I realised there was a second figure standing next to him. Taller than Minseok, his face was almost angelically handsome and streaked, deep brown hair fell in smooth strands over his forehead to thick, decisive eyebrows. He wasn’t wearing makeup now, and the soft lips were held in a tight line but there was no mistaking Exo’s leader. Suho in the flesh; oh Lord! Twisting around to see Jongdae, he looked just as surprised to see him and a subtle tension infected his frame.  
“Junmyeon?”  
Ah, so this was the mysterious Junmyeon! He of the enviable connections and influence that could get a table at one of the most popular restaurants in Seoul at a moment’s notice.  
“The fan attracted a lot of attention. We need to get out of here now.”  
His lips came out in clipped bites and Jongdae’s eyes narrowed slightly; his jaw setting with tension. Before he could say anything, Minseok wrapped a hand lightly around my wrist and tugged me gently.  
“We protect her, yes? We keep her out of the press.”  
Jongdae’s eyes cleared and he nodded sharply, taking my hand and setting off towards the entrance we’d used at the start of the night. Minseok was still holding onto me and we formed a strange little crocodile; almost running through the deserted hallway. Suho was behind us and I could actually feel the waves of anger and disapproval radiating from his slim figure. I had assumed that the mysterious Junmyeon had known exactly why Jongdae had needed a restaurant reservation, but I was beginning to think that there was a lot Jongdae hadn’t told him. We burst through the private doorway and I flinched as it shut with a clang behind us.  
“Miss? I’ll make sure that you get home safely.”  
Suho gave me a charming, reassuring smile… that failed utterly to reach his dark eyes. Jongdae used my hand to tug me in against his side.  
“That isn’t necessary. Thanks for the rescue, guys.”  
“We will have this conversation Jongdae, preferably in private but with her here if we must.”  
Suho’s dropped to a lower pitch, almost a growl and his eyes were burning. “What the hell were you thinking? Not only are you cavalier enough that you take a girl to a cinema of all places but everyone sees you with the girl and we’re five minutes away from having photos of you splashed all over the press with her literally all over you?”  
We both looked down with surprise and I felt a scalding blush burn my cheeks. He was right. Junei’s mohair cardigan had shed like the cheap thing that it was and Jongdae’s expensive clothes were covered in white hair. He looked as though he’d been molested by a werewolf.  
“I will drive her home.”  
Jongdae hissed, so tense by now that his body was almost vibrating against mine. “She was almost attacked by a sasaeng tonight because of me, so you’d better believe I will make sure that she is back at her place safe and sound.”  
Suho’s mouth twisted in irritation but he jerked his head in acceptance.  
“I’ll see you at home.”  
He snapped, and spinning on his heel stalked away to where I’m assuming he and Minseok had parked the car. Minseok swore softly beneath his breath.  
“I wasn’t alone when you called.”  
He said apologetically to Jongdae. “He overheard enough to guess the rest and insisted on coming.”  
Jongdae groaned softly, raking his free hand through his dishevelled hair and still holding me close with the other.  
“Not your fault. It was a conversation I needed to have with him anyway, I just hoped to wait a while longer.”  
“You’re in trouble?”  
I looked up at him anxiously, my hand flattening against his stomach. He squeezed me reassuringly, dropping a kiss onto the top of my head.  
“Junmyeon is one of us, don’t worry. But he’s the leader and this… Jesus Christ, this was a fucking disaster!”  
He raked at his hair again, almost yanking at the glossy strands. I managed a wobbly smile.  
“Even more exciting than last time. I told you we should have stayed within walking distance.”  
He gave a short bark of laughter then sighed. Dropping his hand to mine again he flashed a smile at Minseok.  
“I’ll see you at home.”  
“Don’t dally.”  
Minseok replied, patting me apologetically on the shoulder. “The longer he waits the more steam he’ll build up.”  
Jongdae nodded.

The car pulled up in front of my apartment and Jongdae gave a long, rumbling groan.  
“I hate it so much that I just have to leave you like this.”  
I squeezed his forearm comfortingly.  
“You’ll be alright?”  
“I keep telling you honey, that should be my line!”  
“I’m not the one who has to face off against an enraged Suho.”  
“This is Suho that we’re talking about. It’ll be like getting savaged by a bunny.”  
I gave a soft snort of laughter and he smiled at me. Hooking his arm around my neck he pulled me towards him and kissed me softly on the lips. “Can I call you later? Will I be disturbing you?”  
“I’ll wait up.”  
I said simply and the bottom seemed to fall out of his eyes; softness spilling through the dark depths.  
“You wreck me.”  
He said helplessly. “You say things and I can feel them hitting my heart dead on.”  
I managed a pained smile, murmuring goodbye as I slid out of the car. As I watched him drive away, I felt tears prickling my eyes. No matter how much I touched his heart, I couldn’t help but fear that this would be the last time I saw him.


End file.
